Mega crostini di cavolo nero e provola affumicata, in another language TOASTIES with black cabbage and smoked provola. With a couple of fine slices of speck hidden under the cheese. I don’t spend a lot of time pushing unpopular vegetables at mealtime, but this attempt to redress the wolf worked. I sautéed the washed and chopped kale in plenty of evo with a couple of cloves of whole peeled garlic and a good pinch of sea salt, adding water as required. I quickly toasted nice light airy bread, rubbed each piece with a cut clove of garlic and topped with the well wilted kale, a slither of speck and a slab of smoked provolone (good with winter veg). Toast under grill and serve. Plates were wiped clean, adding another flavor to the growing palates. #familyfood #eattheseason #dressingupveg #cavollonero #tuscankale 📷Leonardo Carosi
In late December I binged the family fiat into a parked car. A cloud with a silver lining kind of moment, because it strengthened my resolve to leave the automobile in the garage almost permanently, and that was in December. Now it is January, and my home is on fire. My resolution just got multiplied by 100. The car is coming out only for the bare essentials; I love the train, have ace walking shoes, and even have a trolley. I even suggested a bit of car pooling at the rugby club. About 5 years ago we drove an average of 10,000 km every year. Last year it was down to about 7,500 (not bad), and this year I’m aiming for no more than 5,000. I see it as a kind of personal Kyoto/Paris/Madrid goal, and I think we just kind of have to bite the bullet and DO IT. Now. In Italy you can take a train almost anywhere. Some are fast and flash and others lumber sluggishly around stopping at every town, but hey, what’s the rush on holiday? You can get to Lubriano with Trenitalia via Orvieto, and stare at the Duomo before hopping on the bus with the teenagers on their way home from school. Sure it’s slower, but why are we always in such a rush? Do we need to see EVERY sight, or is lying by a pool with a book or siting around the table with wine a better idea? Yesterday I updated my (small) list of interesting places to stay around Italy on my blog, some of them are better than others to go car free, but it depends what you want to do. My last two trips to Puglia have been by train, with some internal car travel to get from town to town. Of course, you can carry more ceramics home on the train too. Link in profile. #slowtravel #roadslesstraveled #takeatrain #uniqueplacestostay #rusticaretro #smallfootprinttravel
January. Gennaio. WINTER. Inverno. What’s in season: spinach, rocket, radicchio, cabbages of every kind (including cavolo nero), carrots, beets, fennel and the entire broccoli family. Thanks to @jessicamccannonmicheli for inspiring me to start a month by month market watch, @fondazionecampagnamica for my trusty seasons guide (good for recipe planning) and the market on Gregorio VII for the always vibrant produce. Stay tuned for a Cavollo Nero, or Tuscan Black Kale recipe. #eattheseason #shopatthemarket #localseasonalsustainable #smallfootprintgoals
Last minute Christmas Eve dinner idea! Frittelle di Baccalà, morsels of fried dough with salt cod, a super traditional staple on the 24 December menu, originally designated as a ‘giornata di magro’ for ‘piatti poveri’ or poor dishes without meat, before it was transformed into a mega abbuffata of prawns and lobsters. Take 300 g of ready soaked baccalà and shred it into small bits, removing the skin and bones (Claudio at Banco 98 sells it ready to go). Make a simple dough of 200 g plain flour, 200 ml water, 1/2 a tsp salt and 1 tsp of dried yeast, add the baccalà and let it it rise in the fridge for at least 2 hours but up to 4. Fry spoonfuls of the dough in vegetable oil, drain and serve immediately with sea salt and lemon. These were specifically requested by Leonardo for tonight after we shot them earlier this year for @cipiacecucinare (and deemed better than Nonna Rosa’s!) #lavigiliadinatale #cenadel24 #baccalà #fritellesibaccalà
