EATING IN FLORENCE - BRAC & ORA D'ARIA

The bar at Brac with tables outside on the terrace

I recently had lunch at Brac, located between the Uffizi gallery and Santa Croce in via dei Vagellai 18r. It was something I'd been putting off for a while as, even though I had poked my head in and been really impressed by the lovely relaxing atmosphere that they've created, a vegetarian and vegan menu doesn’t really excite me too much.

Carpaccio di avocado at Brac

However, I ate those words when they served me my carpaccio di avocado, misticanza, pomodoro, sesame, cedano, mandorla e succo di limone, which was absolutely delicious. It was basically half an avocado with sesame seeds sprinkled on top, seated on a bed a mixed green leafy salad with a blended paste of celery, tomatoes and almonds. My friend ordered a pasta chitarra aglio, olio e pomodori secchi (chitarra pasta with sundried tomatoes, oil and garlic). We ate at the bar as all the tables had been reserved, but it was, however, comfortable and nice.

Pasta chitarra aglio, olio e pomodori secchi at Brac

To access the tables for a seated lunch from where we were and where the kitchen is located, there is a small open roofed wooden floored terrace, with comfy armchairs and little coffee tables – an ideal place for some personal R&R or a tête à tête with a mate. As my friend said upon entering Brac, here it seems like you are not in Florence at all! 

It is open 10am-10pm, Monday – Saturday.

Ora d'Aria Restaurant

In the last few days I have also tried the chic restaurant Ora d’Aria, located behind the Uffizi in via Georgofili. The direct translation of the name is ‘Air Hour’ and this is the expression used for the time allocated each day to prisoners in gaol when the are permitted to walk around in the allocated outside zone. This explains the empty birdcage at the entrance, with the door open, as if the bird has flown the coup. 

The decor is lovely, crisp and white, but not sterile. The menu is not overwhelmingly large and is centred upon typically Italian fare such as tripe, baccalà and suckling pig, though served in a modern context with nouvelle cuisine parameters. The assortment of breads was interesting also, and the service was good. 

Suckling pig with garlic, lavender and black cabbage

I enjoyed it very much, and though I must admit I am a real lover of the more familiar and intimate restaurants, and typically shy away from nouvelle cuisine as it is often a bit too precious for my taste,  this was a nice experience. For a starter, I chose the braised tripe and baccalà with chickpea purée and celeriac, and as a main course, the soft crispy suckling pig, with garlic, lavender and black cabbage sautéed with black mustard. 

Open Monday – Saturday, via dei Georgofili, tel.0552001699.

THE FABULOUS DISHES OF MILAN

Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - a common meeting  place for the Milanese

Milan is not usually the first city which springs to mind when thinking about food in Italy.  However, like every other area in Italy, Milan has some fabulous dishes, ones that have interestingly acquired international fame without necessarily being associated with their origin. Here are some of the most important:

One of the most famous signature dishes of the city is the risotto alla Milanese, characteristically yellow from its star ingredient, saffron.

Risotto alla Milanese

 Saffron is a spice which comes from the flower commonly known as the Saffron Crocus. Each stem carries up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas. 

Saffron Crocus

Together with the stalks that connect the stigmas to their host plant, the dried stigmas have been used for centuries in various cuisines as a seasoning and colouring agent, as well as a dye for materials. It is native to southwest Asia and was first cultivated in Greece. It is one of the world’s most costly spices in weight, as the flower’s stigmas need to be collected by hand. One thousand five hundred flowers are needed to make one kilo of saffron spice. Iran now cultivates 90% of the world’s saffron.

Saffron fields in Iran

In the 1300s, rice was extensively cultivated in the area around Naples. Due to the close political and parental relations between the Aragonese in Naples, and the rulers of Milan (the Visconti ruled Milan during the years 1277-1477, and afterwards the Sforza family) rice plantations made their way to northern Italy, where the plain of the Po river was particularly conducive to its success in cultivation. Risotto alla Milanese, which combines both saffron and rice, is thought to have originated in the 1500s. There are some fantastic legends explaining its origin. One of them tells of a very well known and talented glass maker from Flanders who had been called to Milan to work on the windows displaying the cycle of Saint Helen for the cathedral, who had a very talented young craftsman in his workshop, particularly talented in the rendering of colours. His nickname was ‘saffron’ as he put a tiny dose of the plant into the vitreous paste to achieve a brilliant yellow. When his master’s daughter was getting married, in order to increase the magnificence and spectacle at the wedding feast, he did the same for the risotto as for the stained glass windows and added some saffron to the rice, and the rest is history!

Costoletta alla Milanese (called cotoletta alla Milanese by the locals) – is another one of the staples of Milanese cuisine.  The name means ‘little rib’ because of the rib that remains attached to the meat during and after cooking. The veal cutlet is breaded and browned in butter.

Costoletta alla Milanese

This of course immediately reminds many of us of the Weiner schnitzel.

Milan, as well as most of northern Italy, was under Austrian rule for most of the 18th and 19th centuries, after the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, which ended the war of the Spanish succession and assigned Spain’s Italian possession to Austria. Both the northern Italians and the Austrians exchanged cultural and culinerary practices. It is maintained that the Austrians imported the cotoletta alla Milanese to their native land, and not the other way round. The Weiner Schnitzel (Viennese Schnitzel) differs in that there is no bone, and it is thinner and typically crunchier.

Weiner Schnitzel - the Viennese schnitzel

The cotoletta a orecchio di elefante (elephant ear cutlet) is a slight variation also found in Milan, using a thinner larger cut of meat, deboned and tenderized prior to frying. It is called ‘elephant ear’ due to its shape.
Ossobuco – the name translates into 'bone with a hole’, a reference to the marrow hole on the centre of the cross-cut veal shank.

Raw cross cut veal shank showing the marrow bone

It was first documented in the 1800s. Most recipes start by browning the veal shanks in butter (some recommend vegetable oil or lard) after dredging them in flour.   The braising liquid is usually a combination of white wine and meat broth flavoured with vegetables. The shanks are cooked in a low heat for 1-1.5 hours.  Five minutes before the end of the cooking time, the gremolata is added (a chopped herb condiment of parsley, lemon zest and garlic). Ossobuco is often served with risotto alla Milanese, or creamy polenta.

Ossobuco with risotto alla Milanese

Cassoeula – is a great winter dish. It is a thick hearty pork, sausage and cabbage soup.

Cassoeula

 Variations with the pork cuts can occur depending upon taste (trotters, ribs, rind, head, intestines) and sometimes, in the countryside, variations of the type of meat such as chicken or goose. Either way, they all share the common ingredient of cabbage.

Finally, the national Italian Christmas cake, the Panettone, is originally from Milan.

Panettone

 One charming story as to the origins of this traditional Christmas cake dates to 1495, when the head cook of Ludovico il Moro, Duke of Milan, having too many things to organise for the sumptuous Christmas dinner for the duke and his guests, burnt the cake that was for dessert. A kitchen hand, called Toni, had made a cake that morning with the remains of the ingredients used for all the other meal’s dishes (flour, butter, egg, lime peel and some raisins. Toni presented his creation to the cook, who in desperation took the strange cake, in the shape of a large bread loaf, to the duke’s table. Proving to be a huge success, all the guests wanted to know the name, to which the chef replied that it was ‘Toni’s bread’ or Pan di Toni, which morphed, over time, into panettone.
Another explanation for the origin of panettone is documented by Count Pietri Verri, who described the ceremony of the breaking of bread that both rich and poor families would perform at Christmas time. The ‘ceremonia del Ceppo’ would be when the whole family would gather together and the head of the family would break a loaf of bread into pieces, enough for each member, so that all would share from the same loaf, symbolic of the strong family ties which bind all together. The poor man’s bread was made from millet (pane di miglio, called ‘pan de mej'), and the bread of the wealthy and nobility was white bread (called micca). It was decided however that on Christmas day everybody should use the same bread as in the Ceremonia del Ceppo, as a symbol of equality and togetherness. This bread, made from butter, pure flour and sugar was called the pan de’ sciori or pan de ton meaning the luxury bread. In 1919, Motta, the Milanese company, produced the first industrial panettone.

THE BATTLE OF THE BACCALA

Baccala or salted codfish

One of the many loves that I have developed and nurtured since moving to Italy is baccalà. I get very excited every time I see it on the menu, especially as it is dished up and cooked in a variety of different ways depending upon the region. For most Italians, baccalà is salted codfish, except for the biggest consumers of this imported white fish, the Italians from the Veneto region, where the word baccalà is for unsalted codfish, this being referred to in all other areas of Italy as stockfish. Thus in Italy, baccalà is the word referring to the same fish, however, it is typically unsalted in the Veneto (stockfish to all other Italians) and salted to all other regions, such as in Tuscany.

Imported to Italy from the fifteenth century initially through Venice, baccalà  is still today a daily feature in the diet of the Italians from this region, whereas in Florence it appears on the menus typically on Fridays only. One commonly told story recounts that the importation of this versatile fish to Italy dates to 1432 when the Venetian captain Pietro Querini and his crew were shipwrecked on the island of Rost, south of the Lofoten islands off Norway, and to survive they fished and ate the local stockfish, known as baccala, which they continued to eat after returning home.

After the Italian, John Cabot, discovered Newfoundland in 1497, the greater trade routes of cold Atlantic seas made for much greater importation and from the sixteenth century onwards, codfish became continually more widespread in Italian cuisine. It is cheap and the two different preservation procedures used, air drying and salting (similar to that of prosciutto), meant that it was accessible to the poor and was able to be used on Fridays for inland towns when fresh fish wasn’t available.

Salted baccala at the Sant' Ambrogio Market in Florence on Friday, ready to cook. 

The fisherman splits the three to six foot long cod along the belly and discards the backbone, leaving a small portion above the tail. For the salting technique, the codfish is then heavily salted and tightly stacked in many layers. As the cod’s salt bearing cells begin to erupt in reaction to the salt, the liquid is removed and more salt is added. This process continues for about ten days when the water content is under 40% and the fish can be preserved for up to one year. When used for cooking, it must be soaked for up to 48 hours, to rehydrate and remove the percentage of the salt content. The soaking liquid should be changed at least three times during the 48 hours. For the air drying technique, the codfish is immediately treated after being caught and put on supports and left in the open air from February to May. The cold and dry climate, typical of the Scandinavian area, is perfect for this process.  With a temperature ideally below zero it protects the fish from bacteria and insects. After the three months out in the open, it matures in a dry and well ventilated area for a further two to three months. After this process the codfish has lost 70% of its water content but retains most of its nutrients. It is rich in protein, iron salts and calcium.

Baccala mantecato, also called baccala alla veneziana or ‘Venetian style’, is one of the things that I hold close to my heart. The rehydrated air dried codfish (stockfish) is mushed up and mixed with anchovies, oil and milk to form a paste (looks a bit like dense cottage cheese) and then spread in abundance on grilled polenta, or a crostino (small baguette slice). You can find this in the many baccaro bars (traditional tapas like bars in Venice) scattered around the city, and it is a perfect little snack when you meet your mates for an ombra (the Venetian word for an aperitif), ideal at anytime during the day.

Baccala mantecato

Baccala alla vicentina, ‘Vicenza style’, is also stockfish (air dried codfish) and the fish is kept in large flakes or small bite size pieces and prepared with similar ingredients as in Venice. It is eaten more often as a meal and served with soft polenta. 

Baccala alla vicentina

In Tuscany, on Fridays, in local trattorias, baccala alla livornese, Livorno style, will be very often on the menu. In fact, you can find already unsalted baccalà at the local food markets on Fridays so that families can cook it easily at home, avoiding the time consuming de-salting process. Livorno is the largest port in Tuscany, and the way that the Tuscans eat the salted cod is in a fillet, pan-fried, with peeled fresh tomatoes, parsley and garlic.

Baccala alla livornese

Baccala alla romana, Roman style, is deep fried, it is also called baccala fritto alla giudia, fried Jewish style, referring to its possible origin from the Roman Jewish ghetto. There are still some little traditional local bars in Rome, one just off the campo dei Fiori in the historical centre, which cooks this as a snack, and it also features often on the menus.

Baccala alla romana

In Venice I recently had a fabulous plate of baccala mantecato and baccala alla vicentina as a starter in the restaurant 'Antica Adelaide' situated in the Cannaregio area.  The menu here is predominately Venetian cuisine. 

My favourite baccala alla livornese to date in Florence is at 'La Casalinga' near piazza Santa Spirito, made on Fridays only.  If you are keen on trying it, aim to go at lunch time as there may not be any left by dinner time!

WINING & DINING WITH FRESCOBALDI

The little wine bar section of the Frescobaldi restaurant, entrance from via della Condotta. 

The other day I dined for the first time at the Frescobaldi restaurant in central Florence, a stone’s throw from the town hall square. It was delicious and it has now been placed on my list of fave choices for places to eat in the city. A fabulous menu, my first course was spaghetti al burro cacio pepe e rigatino (spaghetti with pecorino grated cheese, cracked pepper with unsmoked bacon bits), 

followed by a main course of baccala con crema di cavolfiore e pancetta croccanti (salt cod with leek puree and crunchy bacon)

and rounded off with apple crumble and ice cream.

Another exquisite combo was the terrina di fegatini di pollo con gelatina al vinsanto e scorze di arancia caramellata (chicken liver terrine with vin santo gelatine and caramellised orange)

 

followed by stinco di agnello con carciofi al tegame (lamb shank with panfried artichokes). 

The wine list is exclusively their own production, as Frescobaldi is one of the largest producers of wine in the region, with wineries also outside Tuscany. I washed down the meal with a great bottle of IGT Toscana and the vin santo to accompany the crumble. At about 55 euros a head, the place rates in my special category for a splurge, or a treat, and worth every penny. The Frescobaldi family also have a wine bar inside the department store Harrods in London, and inside Rome Fiumicino airport. The family is one of the longstanding historical families of Florence, prominent in politics and business (banking and cloth, the backbone of the Florentine economy), from the twelfth century. They opened a banking branch in England in the 1270's, and after two decades they had risen to the position of the royal bankers, taking the place of the Riccardi company from Lucca. The family still currently own and live in their palazzo where they have been since the sixteenth century in via Santo Spirito, on the south side of the river. At the beginning of the seventeenth century they joined several properties in a row that they had bought to construct the current facade seen today form the street. 

Palazzo Frescobaldi in via Santo Spirito

Since their arrival in the city in the twelfth century, they have been located in this area of the city, called the Oltrarno. Their first home, a medieval tower house in the thirteenth century, was located at the foot of the Santa Trinita bridge (one bridge down river from the Ponte Vecchio bridge) where the current Palazzo della Missione is located, built in the seventeenth century. They built the fourteenth century building next to the Palazzo della Missione which still stands today, before moving down the road to via Santo Spirito. 

Palazzo Frescobaldi in Piazza Frescobaldi at the intersection of via Santo Spirito and via  Maggio, situated next to the palazzo della Missione.

In 1444 Stoldo di Lamberto Frescobaldi donated money, along with the other wealthy merchant families in the area, to the construction of the new Augustinian church, Santo Spirito, (dedicated to the Holy Spirit) designed by the Filippo Brunelleschi, the first Renaissance architect. The family bought two side chapels in the presbytery area next to one another, a sure sign of the family's wealth. Moreoever, the position of the family chapels has crucial significance to the location of their palace, located practically next door. They paid for a private access from their domestic space to their religious space, so that they wouldn’t need to be physically inside their chapel to technically ‘attend’ mass which would be said for the family inside the chapel by an Augustinian. They could be behind the wall of the chapel and hear, as well as see, without being seen through a grill, called a coretto, which can be seen today in the top right corner. You can hunt out their side chapel recognising their coat of arms, a shield divided horizontally red and gold with three gold rooks. 

Frescobaldi family coat of arms on the wall inside their restaurant.

The family have been making wine since 1308. In 1995 they began a joint venture with the Robert Mondavi family of Nappa valley. In Tuscany they have nine vineyard areas: Castello di Pomino, Castello di Nipozzano and Tenuta di Castiglioni are located very close to Florence.  

Buon appetito e salute!

Castello di Nipozzano, circa 40 minute drive from the centre of Florence.

 INFO:  Restaurant - tel: +39 055 284 724,  address: via dei Magazzini 2/4r,  www.deifrescobaldi.it

A TUSCAN CHRISTMAS

Pandoro being warmed by the fire.

What will be on the table in Tuscany on the 25th December, Christmas day?  

Here is a pretty typical menu for this region: to start with a big plate of mixed crostini (little slices of bread with differing spreads). The most common of the crostini is the ‘crostini toscani’. So standard is the chicken liver and rabbit spleen pate on a Tuscan table, anytime of the year, that it is called the tuscan crostini. There may also be, to accompany it, tomato bruschetta, a tuna pate spread crostini, or maybe a mushroom crostini. 

Crostini Misti: toscani, tomato, mushroom, white fava beans. 

This can also be accompanied with a plate of mixed salumi (prosciutto, salami) and /or some sliced chicken galantine. 

Chicken galantine

Following this comes the primo (first course).  The most loved on this festive day is the tortellini in brodo, meat filled pockets of pasta bobbing in a meat broth.

Tortellini in brodo

Then comes the secondo (main dish), which is traditionally a bollito misto (mixed boiled meats) and / or zampone. In the mixed boiled meats there could be tongue, capon (castrated rooster) or chicken, turkey, lean beef and cotechino (a rich sausage typically from Mantua).

Bollito misto + cotecchino bottom left

The salsa verde is a must with the bollito misto. This is a tasty sauce made from bread soaked in vinegar until it becomes almost like breadcrumbs, mixed with finely chopped parsley, garlic and lots of good Tuscan olive oil. Finely chopped anchovies and the yolk of a hard boiled egg are also often added. 

Salsa verde

The zampone is scenographic - I always love seeing the whole pig’s trotter stuffed with meat on the table. Like the cotecchino, the zampone is typical of Mantova, but is a favourite in all Italy around Christmas time and is also eaten on New Year’s Eve with lentils. It too is a rich sausage, however the mixed pork meat (cheek, head, throat, shoulder) combined with spices and herbs is stuffed into the skin of a pig’s trotter. The zampone is thought to date to the beginning of the 1500’s in a town called Mirandola (in the Romagna area, north of Tuscany). The town, under siege by the troops of Pope Julius II, killed all the pigs so that the troops wouldn’t be able to have them, and so they minced the meat and stored it inside the trotters in the hope that it would conserve better.

Zampone

For desert, the panettone is a must. Originally from Milan, the panettone dates to the renaissance period, although there are differing stories as to its creation and the origin of its name.  

Panettone

One story is that this traditional Christmas cake dates to 1495 when the head cook of Ludovico il Moro, Duke of Milan, having to many things to organise for the sumptuous Christmas dinner for the duke and his guests, burnt the cake that was for desert. A kitchen hand, called Toni, had made a cake that morning with the remains of the ingredients used for all the other meal’s dishes (flour, butter, egg, lime peel and some raisins. Toni presented his creation to the cook, who in desperation took the strange cake, in the shape of a large bread loaf,  to the duke’s table. Proving to be a huge success, all the guests wanted to know the name, to which the chef replied that it was ‘Toni’s bread’ or Pan di Toni, which morphed, over time,  into panettone. 

Another explanation for the origin of panettone is documented by Count Pietri Verri who described the ceremony of the breaking of bread that both rich and poor families would perform at Christmas time. The ‘ceremonia del Ceppo’ would be when the whole family would gather together and the head of the family would break a loaf of bread into pieces, enough for each member, so that all would share from the same loaf, symbolic of the strong family ties which bind all together. The poor man’s bread was made from millet (pane di miglio, called ‘pan de mej'), and the bread of the wealthy and nobility was white bread (called micca). It was decided however that on Christmas day everybody should use the same bread as in the Ceremonia del Ceppo, as a symbol of equality and togetherness. This bread, made from butter, pure flour and sugar was called the pan de’ sciori or pan de ton meaning the luxury bread. In 1919, Motta, the Milanese company, produced the first industrial panettone.

The rival to the panettone on the Italian Christmas table is the pandoro (see first photo). Originally from Verona, similar to its Milanese cousin, the pandoro doesn’t have candied fruit and it too has now taken on a national status. It is tall and cone shaped with, rather than a point at the top,  a narrower flat form in the shape of a star, typically eight sided. There is often a packet of icing sugar that comes with both the pandoro and the pantettone which is emptied into the plastic covering of the cake just before eating, and, with the cake still inside, is shaken up so that the icing sugar covers the entire exterior surface.

Another national must in this period is the torrone, which is a nougat, made from honey, sugar, egg whites and toasted almonds.  The name could be from the Latin torrere (to toast) refering to the almonds, hazelnuts and pasticcios. It comes in two forms, soft and chewy, and hard and brittle, a speciality of Cremona (Lombardy region), it is eaten all over Italy. A possible origin is also from the fifteenth century, served on the occasion of the marriage between Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti in 1441. 

Torrone

Two types of biscuits typically from Siena are eaten all over the region at Christmas time - ricciarelli (soft almond paste biscuits typically shaped like a leaf -  the ingredients being peeled almonds, sugar, icing sugar, egg yolks) and cavallucci (flour, sugar, walnuts, aniseed, honey, cinnamon, and sometimes with candied orange ). The latter’s original name is berriguocoli and they were documented already by 1515 as being the sweet distributed by the consistory to his members during the festive season. The biscuits take on their current name due to the cavallai, the grooms at staging posts along the route, who would keep these as sweets due to their easily transportable nature and long life, were able to be conserved for reasonably long periods of time. 

Ricciarelli

Cavalluci

Typically, Italians celebrate Christmas lunch rather than dinner. The meal is accompanied with red wine  and rounded off with some sweet dessert wine. Many Italians are back in business for a feast the following day, known as 'Santo Stefano'. There is no rest for the wicked. Buon Appetito and happy holidays to all! 

CANTUCCI - THE BISCOTTI THAT ARE COOKED TWICE, DIPPED TWICE AND INDULGED IN COUNTLESS TIMES

The advertising campaign for the Pringle potato chips ‘once you pop you just can’t stop’ perfectly describes my cantucci addiction. I confess to being shamelessly hooked on cantucci.  I cannot stop at one, or even ten. These almond biscuits are typical of Tuscany.  Called biscotti in the Anglo-Saxon world, they now commonly go by the name cantucci (or cantuccini) in Italian but ‘biscotti di Prato’ is their real name.

Prato, a Tuscan town located about 30 kilometres outside of Florence, is their place of origin as the recipe stands today. The biscuits have been documented in Prato since the seventeenth century, however, they were revamped by the local pastry/biscuit chef Antonio Mattei in the nineteenth century, who opened his shop in 1858, where it still is today.

Cantucci were internationally recognized for their scrumptiousness when, in 1867, Mattei took them to the Universal Exposition (World Expo) in Paris where they received a special mention. These biscuits began to be the hottest sellers in his shop, and their name shifted from ‘biscotti di Prato’ to ‘cantucci’ as his outdoor shop sign read ‘Fabbricante di cantucci’ (Cantucci producer).

Fabbricante di cantucci

This sign referred to another type of rustic biscuit which he sold, hugely popular in the area, made of toasted bread, olive oil and aniseed. Over time, as the production of ‘biscotti di Prato’ superseded that of the traditional cantucci, the name changed. The shop now has been run by the Pandolfini family for three generations and they make the Cantucci to the traditional recipe. These are still the choicest ones to buy for somebody as a gift, even though, I must admit, they aren’t my favourite. I like them a bit more rustic  with a larger quantity of almonds and without the pinenuts that they add.

A fixed standard on most Tuscan dessert menus is ‘Cantucci & Vin Santo’. The biscuits are served with local sweet wine in which the cantucci are dipped. These biscuits can be eaten whenever you like, however this is how they are most commonly served here.

I had my first cooking lesson yesterday with my great mate Graham (renowned far and wide for his divine cooking skills and foodie talents), and we started by making cantucci - and they were fabulous! The ingredients are: self-raising flour, sugar, eggs, butter, toasted almonds and salt. 

Toasting almonds and melting butter

The mixture is then formed into a type of log, left for one hour and then cooked for about 30 minutes.

Afterwards, the logs are cut diagonally, about 1cm in width, and then put back into the oven for a few minutes to crisp a little more on the exterior whilst remaining a little soft inside.

Stay tuned for the next foodie blog with another lesson with Graham in my new series titled 'Prosciutto Grigio'.

Most bakeries in Tuscany sell cantucci, especially in the Prato and Florence provinces. There are two shops in the centre of Florence which specialize in them and where you can also find variants (fig and walnut, orange and dark chocolate etc) even though I am staunchly conservative and stay with the original almond kind.
Where to buy in Florence:  IL CANTUCCIO BISCOTTI DI LEONARDO in Via Nazionale 121/R, and the more recently opened family-run place IL CANTUCCIO in Via Sant'Antonio 23/r. Both are in the area of the central food market (mercato central).

A WEEKEND AND PASTA IN SARDEGNA

The gastronomic adventure never ceases here in Italy. I have just spent the weekend in Sardegna and discovered two new types of pasta typical to this lovely wild island: fregola and culurgiones.

Culurgiones is a type of pasta which originated from the Ogliastra area (central east of Sardegna) and now enjoyed all over the island. It belongs in the same family as the tortello and raviolo, being a ‘pasta ripiena’ or pasta with filling inside. This filling changes slightly according to the season and the area, but the form stays the same. Inside is a potato base with either goat or sheep cheese according to the season, with mint or garlic.

The culurgiones are oblong in shape and have a slight half moon curve to them due to the way that the fresh pasta is closed at either end with the fingers. They are decorated with some diagonal incisions which, when combined with the shape, take the form of sheaves of wheat when on a plate. Served warm with a pecorino cheese grated on top they're delicious. They can also be served with a tomato sugo.

Fregola is completely different - it is similar to couscous only slightly larger in form. These small balls of pasta are often served with fish broth or a fish sugo or a more delicate and light broth. They are made by rubbing the mixture (semola grano duro and water) together between the hands until the little balls form, thus giving origin to the name  (‘sfregare’ means to rub one's hands together). 

Typically from Cagliari and Oristano, the pasta is found packaged in shops all over Sardegna, though it is not necessarily on the menu in trattorias outside of its native region.