Italian Pulled pork

This is such an easy and quite healthy recipe. It also requires 10 minutes to prepare. I was inspired by a restaurant in London called Negozio Classica, which makes a very similar dish. I adapted mine to what I had around the house.

what you need
Pulled pork (any type) 1 cup
A metal round shape tool
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 cup cannellini beans

Wash the beans and boil in fresh water. In the meantime using a brush, brush the meat with vinegar and olive oil. Take a plate and using the metal round shape tool place the meat piling it like you were making a brick wall;)

Chopped the tomatoes placing them around the meat. Do the same thing with the beans- sprinkle all with olive oil, pepper and salt.

Place in the fridge- I like to serve it cold- Enjoy with a nice glass of wine-

I keep eating

I keep eating in Italy. I can’t believe people eat this much. I follow a strict micro diet in the States, super healthy but when I am here I stuff my mouth with cured ham, cheese, focaccia, pasta, and ice creams. It is uncontrollable. You don’t eat just one dish, you have 3 courses. I don’t know how they do it.

For my uncle’s birthday we were invited to a dinner at Vipore on the hills of Lucca. The restaurant is owned by friends, which was awesome because he opened the place just for us. It has been a long time since the entire family did not spend time together, which I guess pushed everyone to eat everything that was on the menu and to drink every bottle of wine in the restaurant.

I believe we had hams, farro, crostini, bread, salads, fettucine with rabbit, pasta with spicy sausages, tortelli with ragu, french fries Italian style, steak, fiorentina, rabbit, cakes, red wine, spumante, champagne, corretto, liquors…..I just can’t remember… so I will leave it to pictures to tell the story of that night. Happy Birthday to my uncle Titti.

and here I stop!

Best Restaurants in Lucca

I had the pleasure to work in Europe for the past few weeks. It is not easy because there are many distractions, one being food. Since I am slowly becoming a food communication specialist I had managed to interview the chef of one of the best restaurants in Lucca – Locanda di Sesto, nearby Lucca. The restaurant offers a typical traditional italian cuisine based on soups, crostini, cure hams, meats, local wine and beer.

For example this picture above is a typical appetizer in Tuscany called Fettunta (I hope I spelled it right) or Fetta Unta, which translates in oily (greasy) slice of bread- The recipe is very easy, a simple and cheap meal from back in the days- Toast Tuscan bread and sprinkle with olive oil and rosemary. It was accompanied by Prosecco, a sparkly dry white wine, similar to Brut.

The menu is very generous ranging from meat or vegetarian dishes. The restaurant is famous for the giant steaks, that are selected individually from the Chef Aurelio Barattini. There is no doubt that the quality of what he offers is high. He produces his own extra virgin olive oil as well as red wine, which was the smoothest wine I ever had. (and I am super picky). He also grows a variety of vegetables that he uses for his own dishes. Products are seasonal.

He makes his own pasta too. So I guess the question is what does not he make?

I got to the restaurant around 8PM on a Monday night. I thought the restaurant was closed (usually Monday and Tuesday restaurants are closed in Italy), but it was quite busy with locals and travelers. Aurelio explained to me that he closes on Saturday and during festivities because he would rather serve few clients but well than be packed like in meat slaughter. In fact, his mother and the rest of his team was cordial, ready to answer all my questions. All the tables around me ordered the famous meat and I must admit it looked delicious. I am personally not a huge meat fan, so I opted for a local soup made with artichokes and asparagus.

The restaurant is family-owned so when you walked in the kitchen you meet Aurelio’s father and mother. His dad is originally from Emilia Romagna. Everybody has a job to keep the business going.

This soup is called Garmugia (you can find a recipe here, not of Aurelio, but it can be a starting point) and consists of artichockes, asparagus, broth and a type of meat I can’t recall. It was awesome.

As a second dish I had pancetta di vitella ripiena with roasted vegetable as a side dish. Vitella is veal, which is packed with some other goodies including eggs and bacon. It was very tender and flavory, but also very light.

There is much more I can write. I talked to Aurelio for four hours sipping on wine (Just me) and observing him cooking and interacting with clients. What I was interested was the integration of social media into food culture in Italy. I had found Aurelio on LinkedIn just for chance. I was intrigued by his tweets about food markets and recipes, so we connected. It is not that often that you find chefs in my hometown utilizing social media so well and with such skills. His pictures of food make you want to jump in a plane and go to the restaurant. He then told me that he was initially a graphic designer, which explains his interest. He admits that for him social media can be used to reinforce food culture, to teach young children about food. It is also a very effective marketing tool. He has connected with people globally and offers workshops in the United States. His blog provides recipes of traditional Italian dishes, including the Mimosa Cake, which I am going to attempt to make when I get back to the States.

But the real question is: was the food good and would I return?

Yes, the food was awesome and I would highly recommend the place. First, having lived in Lucca, I must admit that today you can’t eat well inside the wall. The center of Lucca has been commercialized at a point that each restaurant is a tourist trap (or at least the majority). La Locanda di Sesto is about 15 minutes outside the wall and maybe that is what helps the cuisine to stay true to its roots. It is a mix of your mom’s cuisine with the sophistication of a professional chef. But get ready to eat a lot. Portions are generous and you just can’t go home without having tasted a first and second dish. For Americans who love to taste real Italian food this is a must. In fact on TripAdvisor the reviews are great, proving that after all someone still knows how to cook like a pro.

Americans spend 10% of their income on grocery

In 2009 it was estimated that Americans spend only 10% of their income on grocery, questioning the relations with the increase in obesity or diabetes, and the relation individuals have with nature and food. While one could relate the low percentage to income, the reality is that individuals prioritize other products such as computer, phones, entertainment, and clothes. In Italy a family spends on average 2.485 euros per month, which is roughly 621 euros per week or a little bit less than 800 USD (790). Let’s say the average family consists of four individuals (even though Italian families are shrinking) that is 200 euros per person per week- How much do you personally spend on food? We are not even talking about organics- We are talking about grocery.

I experienced this morning what it means to go grocery shopping in Italy on a Saturday morning in an national chain supermarket called COOP. It was overwhelming. It looked like tailgating at a football game. No exaggerations! It was packed. I mean packed! There three main phenomena I observed: (1) the supermarket serves as a place to discuss and exchange ideas on food or family issues; (2) there are a lot of old people, more than in Florida; Italians do not understand lines.

1. I have observed that most people came to the supermarket accompanied by relatives (e.g. daughters, sisters, fathers, mothers), or they met friends and neighbors while shopping. This type of community shopping created from the perspective of an efficient American CHAOS, because there is no concept of what is around you. People would just hang out in the middle or in front of the produce section, talking about family issues, or conversing about where the food came, the costs, the quality, etc. While this is what many food activists aspire to, it does not work within a corporate, capitalistic industrialized supermarket. The building space is not constructed in such a way to have conversations. The idea is simple: you see a tomato, you get it, you put it in your cart, and you proceed to the next item. You don’t stop. But Italians don’t care or understand the concept. With their shopping companion aside with each one cart they just stroll down, occupying the entire space, stopping, blocking, irritating all the other people who are trying to buy. As a result what happens is chaos. Individuals are irritated and they start pushing. They pushed carts out of the way, without placing the cart in a strategic location, which will not interfere with the flow of the consumer. They just push them to pass through. This woman left her cart in the MIDDLE of a major traffic intersection (at the supermarket) blocking four directions of traffic. She disappeared for 5 minutes. People trying to navigate the cart, just kept pushing it from different angles just allowing them to pass by. The solution was to put the cart on a side.

2. There were a lot of old people. It is well known that Italy has a high % of old people, but to see them all in once was interesting. I am from FL and not even I see that many elderly. There is nothing wrong with that expect that once you get old, you get irritated easily, you walk slow, you don’t remember where you left your cart, you think you are always right, you complain about anything and the list goes on. As a result it is quite difficult to navigate through the supermarket based on point 1 & 2.

3. I mentioned this in point 1, but Italians do not understand the concept of lines, organization, efficiency. It’s common sense in America. Americans are at times too extreme. They follow directions and at times this is their biggest limitations. Italians know how to improvise, but when placed in again corporate buildings that follow capitalistic industrialized way of operating, things get complicated. People cut through lines at the cashier, they form double lines, they push you aside to cut through. You name it.

Overall, I was overwhelmed. I think if I had to live here I would need to manage my life as to avoid any possible occurrence that would drive me crazy. I am such a To Do List person, with time/date. I select when to go grocery shopping based on less busy days, incoming products. I am even though my husband would not agree, a mini management. I have to because I hate wasting time. I am too busy for that. So If I had to live here, I would have to conduct field trips in different grocery stores, run an analysis and then write a report highlighting most efficient ways to go grocery shopping.

It’s about 1:00AM. I have been sleeping on an average of 4 hrs a night. Goodnight – I ll try to post more about my work-vacation in Italy-

Zucchini frittata

By now you should know I love frittata. They are high in protein, energy, low in carbs, low calories and you can just put in everything you want. Plus nobody can screw up a frittata.

Consider two eggs for each person. I used 6.
One medium size zucchini
1/4 onion chopped finely
Olive oil for the skillet
1/4 heavy cream
Salt pepper fresh herbs chopped finely

Use a peeler to peel the zucchini in a julienne way. They need to be thin, like a piece of paper. Chopped the onion and place it in a hot skillet with olive oil. When brown add the zucchini, herbs, salt and pepper. Mix the eggs and cream in a bowl and blend. Add the egg s into the pan and cook on low until each side is brown/gold. Obviously you have to flip the frittata using a plate.

Serve hot with fresh goat or feta cheese on top.