A Passionate Life

Discovering the extraordinary in the ordinary

Living like an italian

Recipes for my Italian summer

Recipes for my Italian summer
Italian recipe books from my bookshelf

I love cooking and I’m a cook who needs a recipe, so they are always on my reading list. I’ve been known to while away a few hours looking though cookbooks when there is an occasion coming up (and even when there isn’t one!).  I have lots — not only Italian, also Thai, Vietnamese and Greek. My favourite chefs are Delia Smith, Nigella (who also loves Italy and Italian cooking), Luke Nguyen and  Aussie chef Karen Martini whose recipes feature Italian, Greek and Lebanese food. I also have recipe books dedicated to Italian food, as well as books that focus on Italian regional cuisine. Now I have another excuse to while away some time looking at recipes for my Italian summer. It’s research, right?

A few years ago I received from amore mio a tome of a book called La cucina – the regional cooking of Italy. It’s from the Accademia Italiana della Cucina (Italian Academy of Cuisine) which was founded more than 60 years ago, to preserve the the culinary heritage of Italy. With more than 2000 recipes from all regions of Italy, it’s a veritable encyclopaedia of traditional Italian cooking. You can find recipes on their website. (It’s in Italian and you have to register to access the recipes)

Authentic Italian recipes for an italian summer
La Cucina, an embodiment of authentic regional Italian cooking

When I first opened the book, I was intimidated. Not a picture in sight! And recipes for anything from smoked goose to polenta fruitcake, laurel liqueur to wild herb soup, and pasta in a myriad ways.

I haven’t cooked many dishes from the book but my Italian summer plans call for another look. I hope I can do justice to these traditional Italian recipes.

Here’s a peek . . .

Braised asparagus
Recipe for braised asparagus

Even though some of the recipes come from traditional kitchens when Italians grew most of what they ate, they are open to interpretation. As Paolo Petroni, founder of the Slow Food Movement says,”tradition is in perpetual motion and new life must always be breathed into the past”.

Here’s to giving new life to ancient traditions!

Buona cucina! 

Colleen

 

 

PS: Do you have a favourite Italian recipe that’s been passed down from your nonna? Please share if it’s not a secret!

The foundations for an Italian summer

 

Loganberries ripening for my Italian summer
Loganberries ripening

As I said in my last post,  I’m planning to live like an Italian this summer.  This means preparing the foundations  — planting and nurturing the fruit and vegetables that we will be eating this season. The garden is bursting with new growth. The fruit trees — apple, nectarine, fig, pomegranate, apricot, lemon, and the vines —grape, passionfruit, berry and kiwi are showing signs of a great harvest.

Let’s hope (speriamo!) my green thumb endures . . .

 

Radish seedlings - for an Italian summer
Radish seedlings

 

Freshly planted tomatoes - perfect for an Italian summer
Freshly planted tomatoes

 

Spinach, a must for an Italian summer
Baby spinach

Planting the foundations for an Italian summer

In order for growth and progress, it’s necessary to begin with good foundations. So it is in the garden. New vegetable beds have been created, the soil has been enriched, seeds have been sown and planting has begun!

Some of the summer vegetables I’ve planted:

  • pomodori (tomatoes)
  • melanzane (eggplant)
  • cetrioli (cucumbers)
  • lattuga (lettuce)
  • ravanello (radish)
  • barbabietola (beetroot)
  • peperoncino (chilli)
  • rucola (rocket)

 

Herbs and flowers for an Italian summer
Herbs and flowers for an Italian summer

Mine is not a dedicated orto (vegetable garden) as I love flowers too. It’s a cottage garden and the vegetables and herbs —basilico (basil), timo di limone (lemon thyme), origano (oregano), salvia (sage), rosmarino (rosemary), aneto (dill) and prezzemolo e menta (parsley and mint) have to live among the roses, begonias, geraniums, hollyhocks and daisies.

Sage seedlings ready to be planted
Sage seedlings ready to be planted

Spring is in the air, but summer isn’t far behind. Over the next few months, we’ll see how my foundations for an Italian summer bears fruit.

Looking forward to un raccolto abbondante (a rich harvest!)

Colleen

 

 

PS: Do you grow your own fruit and vegetables? What’s in your garden?

How to live like an Italian

Live like an Italian”, was Dina’s advice when I lamented that hadn’t visited Italy that summer. I missed the place, the people, the Italian ways. I’ve reflected on her words, on how I could live like an Italian, especially when I’m not in bel paese.

How do you live like an Italian when you’re not in Italy?

Is it about the food . . .the language . . .the culture . . . family? Maybe it’s the way you behave  — in Italian it’s called Il Galateo. Perhaps it’s about traditions and rituals.

I asked some friends if they live like Italians.
“Of course!” was the chorus.

But what did it mean to them to live like Italians?

Food and family topped the list. Not surprising! When we think of Italy there is an immediate association with food. It defines what it means to be Italian no matter where in the world they live.

 

food, family and friends
Food, family and friends

For Italians however, food means more than just filling stomachs. Food and food practices have important roles within the family — through food preparation rituals, traditional family gatherings, and celebrations.

And for Italian Australians, especially the generation that emigrated in the 1950s, the traditions and rituals of the past continue, as do the values of family and culture which they brought with them all those years ago. In some ways, they are more Italian than the Italians!

So I’ve decided to live like an Italian this summer.

Preparing an Italian dinner
Preparation for an Italian dinner

Of course it’s about the food. But it will also include growing the fruit and vegetables, recipes and cooking, rituals like enjoying an aperitivo in the evenings, making the sugo, and gathering family and friends together, books, Italian language and cultural activities.

making pasta
Food prep, Italian style

It’s going to be an Italian summer in Australia and I am going to live like an Italian. Perhaps I’ll start my own traditions.

Buone tradizioni! 

 

 

PS: Do you have rituals and traditions in your family that have endured over time?