Polenta © Denzil Green Polenta is a dish made from cornmeal that is boiled into a thick, porridge-like consistency. You can serve hot scoops of it on a plate, or let it cool till it hardens, then slice it and recook it in baked dishes or by frying. In the north of Italy, polenta is…
Italian Food
Polenta Taragna
Taragna polenta is made from ground corn and buckwheat. The black bits in it are the buckwheat, which give it a slight bitter flavour. It is popular in Lombardy, Italy. In different areas of Lombardy, it is served cooked with different cheeses on it — Taleggio, Bitto cheese in Valtellina, Branzi cheese around Bergamo, etc….
Polpettone
Polpettone are large meatballs that some Italians try to describe to North Americans as “meat loaf cooked on top of the stove.” The meatball can be made as one large pie-sized meat-ball, or as pattie-sized meatballs. They can be made from anything: beef, turkey, calamari, tuna, vegetables, squash, beans, potatoes, etc. For a starch binder,…
Porcini Mushrooms
Dried Porcini Mushrooms © Denzil Green Porcini Mushrooms are pale brown with a meaty texture and a rich, woodsy flavour. They don’t have gills underneath the cap; they have pores instead. The caps can be anywhere from 1 to 10 inches wide (2.5 to 25 cm.) They are still collected from the wild; efforts to…
Pork Brawn
Pork Brawn (aka Head Cheese) is a meat jelly made from pork. The jelly has small pieces of meat in it. You can think of it as sausage, a jellied meat, a potted meat, or as a cold meat loaf with a lot of wobble to it. (Granted, some people don’t like to think of…
Pre-Ferments
A pre-ferment is a dough that has had a head-start on fermenting before the rest of the ingredients are added. It adds taste and strength to the dough.
Provolone Cheese
Provolone is semi-firm Italian cheese. To make it, whole cow’s milk is heated to 100 F (38 C.) Whey from previous batches is added to act as the starter culture, along with Rennet. The Rennet used may be from a calf, a goat kid, or a lamb. When the milk has curdled, the curd is…
Punt e Mes
Punt e Mes is a red vermouth made from white wine fortified with alcohol, herbs and sugar. The taste is both sweet and bitter. It is made by the Carpano company in Turin, Italy. If you make a Manhattan with Punt e Mes instead of another regular red vermouth, the drink is called a “Top…
Purple Sprouting Broccoli
Purple Sprouting Broccoli is mostly dark green. It’s the outside edges of the florets that have a purple tinge to them, and that too goes green when cooked. The plant is very cold hardy, down to 14 F (-10 C.) You start the plants in the late summer, let them overwinter, and in the spring…
Quartirolo Cheese
Quartirolo is a soft, crumbly cheese with a slightly sour tang. Made in the Lombardy region of Northern Italy, it is made in 3 inch (7 1/2 cm) squares or in a rectangular shape 7 to 9 inches (18 to 22 cm) long, weighing from 3 1/3 to 6 1/2 pounds (1 1/2 to 3…
Quintale Seme Giallo Pumpkins
Quintale Seme Giallo Pumpkins are squat. They weigh 5 to 20 pounds (2 1/3 to 9 kg) on average, but often can grow over 50 pounds (22 ½ kg.) It has sweet, not watery, orange flesh that is good eating. The seeds are also very good eating, and can be pressed for oil. It can…
Radicchio
Radicchio © Denzil Green Radicchio is a leafy salad vegetable with dark red leaves. It is a variety of chicory, making it a member of the endive family. It is generally about 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) long. Much of our Radicchio is imported from Italy, not because it won’t grow elsewhere,…
Ragoût
Ragoût is a stew or sauce that can be made of fish, poultry or meat (the meat can be game.) It may or may not have vegetables. The French version is called “Ragoût” and is a stew. The Italian version is called “Ragù” and is a sauce. French Ragoût The meat is cut into even…
Rapini
Rapini © Denzil Green Rapini is green, leafy vegetable that is a variety of broccoli. It differs from regular broccoli in that the florets are small, there are more leaves, and it has a slightly bitter bite to the taste. The stems and skin on them are also much thinner, making them tender enough to…
Ravioli Day
The 20th of March is Ravioli Day! If it’s a weekend, see if you can talk a group of friends into coming round in the afternoon and making the ravioli for dinner from scratch.
Red Wine Vinegar
Red Wine Vinegar is made from red wine, as the name would hint. There are red wine vinegars that are made more quickly, using so-so wine, that are sold cheaper, and there are more expensive ones, aged for a few years in oak barrels, etc. In general, red wine vinegars require longer aging than white…
Ricotta Cheese
Ricotta Cheese © Denzil Green Ricotta Cheese is a soft fresh cheese made from the whey left over after making other cheeses — usually cow’s milk cheeses. The whey is heated to 77 C (170 F.) Citric acid is added, then the temperature raised further to 85 C. (185 F) The heat curdles the whey,…
Risotto
Lobster Risotto © Paula Trites Risotto is a rice dish that is a staple recipe in Northern Italy. It is different from many rice dishes where the rice is cooked separately; in Risotto, all the ingredients are cooked along with the rice, making a Risotto a good way to use up leftover ingredients. There are…
Risotto Rice
Risotto rice refers to a category of rices well-suited because of their properties to be used in the Italian dish known as “risotto.” All risotto rices are a short-grain rice or medium-grain rice that is quite fat and very starchy, so that the grains can absorb lots of moisture and make the mixture quite creamy….
Romano Beans
Romano Beans grow in flat green or yellow pods. The yellow-podded varieties are often called “Gold Romano Beans.” Though related to string beans, the pods are wider and stringless, and longer – they can be between 6 to 8 inches long (15 to 20 cm.) When very young, the whole pod can be eaten. You…
Rosolio
Rosolio (aka Rosoli) used to made from the herb called “sundew” (Drosera rotundifolia), aka “Rosa Solis.” It used to be made entirely from juice from this herb. Now, it is a generic name for sweet, aromatic, syrupy cordials or liqueurs with low alcohol content, often homemade, even orange and lemon ones. When a Rosolio is…
Rugosa Butternut Squash
Rugosa Butternut Squash is a large-sized butternut squash, ridged from top to bottom. It has a good butternut squash taste. 100 days from seed. Language Notes An Italian name for Rugosa Butternut Squash, “Rogosa Violina Gioia”, alludes to the way some people try to describe its shape by comparing it to a violin. Most people,…
Sambuca
Sambuca is an anise-flavoured liqueur. Popular brands are Galliano, Luxardo, Molinari, Opal Nera, Romana, and Sambuca di Amore. The alcohol content varies from 38 to 42% alcohol, depending on the brand and variety. The main ingredients are oil and blossoms from the Witch Elder (aka ‘Sambuca Nigra’) bush, and anise seeds. Some brands, such as…
Scamorza Cheese
Scamorza Cheese is a semi-soft white cheese that is like a firm, drier Mozzarella. It is made throughout Apulia, and in some parts of Campania and Molise. The cheese is made from pasteurized milk. The milk can be cow’s milk, or mixed cow and sheep milk. It is made like Mozzarella. Whole milk from two…